Nick Clark: Teasing of textile material for any purpose

Imagine you run a business as a “dag crusher”. For those unfamiliar with the term, a “dag” is a dirty bit of wool attached to a sheep’s rear end.

Every year you must fill out a form and pay your local council for the privilege of being allowed to continue to crush dags.

The Health Act 1956 lists nineteen jobs it calls “offensive trades”. Offensive in this case does not mean rude or obscene – it means highly unpleasant or, more colloquially, “gross”.